Healthy Options 4/1/26: Brain health & how we can stay healthy & resilient – at any age.

Host/Producer: Rhonda Feiman
Co-Producer: Petra Hall
Technical Assistance: Joel Mann

Healthy Options: For Well-being & Being Well

This month:
– What exactly is healthy aging?
– How stress affects memory & brain function, & how we can reduce the negative effects of cortisol.
– Mild cognitive impairment, dementia, & Alzheimer’s disease explained.
– How sleep affects the brain.
– How does exercise (such as Tai Chi, walking, dance & yoga) affect our cognition & help our brain & body as we age?
– Awareness of the effects of multiple medications on the brain.
– What health care workers are learning about healthy aging.
– Why “Forest bathing” and being in nature is so helpful to brain health & our sense of well-being.

Guest(s):
Geriatric psychiatrist, Dr. Susan Wehry, has been a passionate advocate for older people throughout her 40 plus year career, during which she has held a variety of clinical, administrative, academic and consulting roles across the country.
Dr. Wehry had served as Chief of Geriatrics at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, and for several years had been the Commissioner of Vermont’s Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living.
As a clinician, educator, policy maker, advocate and advisor, Dr. Wehry has shared her work with students, professionals, older adults and family caregivers, throughout the United States and abroad.

FMI:
Opinion: The Nature Pill 12/22/23 By Elizabeth Luo
www.nuscimagazine.com/opinion-the-nature-pill
Healing ourselves through nature: “The Nature Fix- Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative” (Florence Williams, author)
archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2017/11/healthy-options-11117/
Previous Healthy Options interview with Dr. Susan Wehry
archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2023/12/healthy-options-12-6-23-brain-health-and-aging-well/

About the host:
Rhonda Feiman is a nationally-certified, licensed acupuncturist practicing in Belfast, Maine since 1993. She primarily practices Toyohari Japanese acupuncture, using gentle and powerful non-insertion needle techniques, and also utilizes Chinese acupuncture and herbology. In addition, Rhonda is a practitioner of Qi Gong and an instructor of Tai Chi Chuan in the Yang Family tradition.